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Day 5 –
28 May Gábor was working on construction of a
water level feeding station in the pond this morning, so the pre-breakfast
stroll concentrated on moths. A simple tap on any stand of vegetation was
likely to disturb a few insects from their daytime hiding place allowing closer
scrutiny. Among the many micros too small or mobile to photograph and/or
identify we did see several pyralids, a white plume moth, magpie moth, heart
and dart together with a rather splendid and boldly-marked speckled yellow. An
encouraging start to what promised to be a most exciting day.

A party of ringers had arrived at the
lodge from the Czech Republic to spend the weekend investigating the contents
of some 300 nest boxes they had placed on telegraph poles and other suitable
sites throughout the park. The essence of this programme, which is undertaken
on a purely voluntary basis, is to increase the breeding population of rollers
and it has been a resounding s…

Day 3 –
26 May Today’s pre-breakfast stroll revealed
a family party of black redstarts that had recently nested on one of the
Lodge’s roof supports together with a lovely spotted flycatcher in the process
of doing the same. As I pulled back the cloth flap of the pond hide I disturbed
a large grass snake that had been resting in the cool interior. That specimen
slithered away before I could have a closer look, but several newly hatched
individuals provided very close encounters as they swam in the shallows and
sometimes investigated the dark opening to the hide. On more than one occasion
I had to give them a gentle tap to discourage them actually entering; I was
more concerned for their safety than mine. These bright, inquisitive creatures
provided great entertainment as they silently explored every niche of the pond
surround, while the nightingales, golden orioles and hoopoe enriched the scene
with their song.

Imagine waking up to the sound of
golden orioles wolf whistling in the rustling poplars, nightingales stridently
clattering behind screens of billowing ash and the ‘thrip thrip’ calls of
bee-eaters slicing through the calm dawn skies. All of this bathed in golden
sunlight caressing miles of dew-spangling grasslands bejewelled with myriad
wild flowers. Sounds good, doesn't it? In fact almost too good to be true, but
these things happened every morning of our stay in the Kiskunsȃg National Park of central Hungary. There were times when literally the only
things that could be heard were the calls of wild creatures; the chirruping of
crickets, the croaking of frogs and the aforementioned birdsong which provided
pleasant background music all day long. There were seldom any man-made noises
to intrude. But I race ahead of myself and should really begin at the beginning
and recount the events of our week long Honeyguide holiday to this beautiful
area as they unfurled. Day 1 –
24 May There …

I live in Norfolk, I've always lived in Norfolk and will undoubtedly do so until this body of mine throws in the towel. I love wildlife and have done so since a very young age. Can't see that changing either. Having much time on my hands my aim now is to see as much wildlife as I can from as many places as I can afford to reach. The plan is to document some of my experiences and thoughts here for others to share.